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TINTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES D. BLACK, or BosToN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASsIGA'oR To rnMsnLr AND EZEKIEL HALLET, JR., or SAME PLACE.

BOOT-CRIMPING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,977', dated May 10, 1859.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES D. BLACK, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boot-Crimping Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which-w Figure l is a view of a boot crimping machine with my improvements attached. Fig. 2 detail to be referred to hereafter.

In boot crimping machines as ordinarily constructed, where the hitch-on is raised by the hand of the operator to take up the slack of the leather as the crimping proceeds, the device by which it is operated is attached rigidly to the top of the brake; this endangers tearing off the corners of the leather which are held in the hitch-on if the leather should adhere to the jaws of the machine when the brake is raised.

To remedy this is the object of the first part of my invention, which consists in supporting the device by means of which the hitch-on isv raised, upon a spring bearing which may yield should the leather stick in the jaws of the machine, and thus prevent tle hitch-on7 from tearing off the corners o it.

The second part of my invention consists in an improved hitch-on which will be hereafter more fully described.

That others skilled in the art may understand and use my invention I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried out the same.

In the said drawings A is the stand, B the jaws which are adjusted at the proper distance apart by set screws a. C the brake which is pivoted at Z) to a short standard c rising from the stand A. To the top of the brake C is secured a block Z from which rises a rod c over the top of which lits a cap f that slides up and down on the rod c for a short distance and is supported by a spiral spring g surrounding the rod. A standard 71. attached to the block cl has a slot z' near its top, inwhich slides a pin m projecting from the cap f, this serves to steady the cap and keep it in a vertical position. In the to-p of the cap f is pivoted at lc the lever D over the short end of which is hung a cord Z, the other end of the cord being attached to the hitch-on E (shown detached in Fig. 2). This hitch-on consists of a saddle n to which the cord Z is fastened, and which embraces and slides up and down on the brake C, being guided by pins 5 in the brake. To this saddle n is pivoted at 6 on each side a jaw p the lower end of which grasps the corner of the leather to be crimped between the aw and the lower end of the saddle n. A screw o passes through the top of one of these jaws 79 and rests against the other lever, so that by turning the screw the lower ends of these jaws may be caused to close tightly upon the corners of the leather. A spiral spring 1" surrounds the screw o between the two jaws, and presses the upper ends of them apart. A ratchet u on the cap f and a pawl s pivoted to the lever D serve to retain this lever as it is pressed down, and to hold up the hitch-on E as the slack of the leather is taken up. The spring g is made only strong enough to enable the operator to take up the slack of the leather, but not to tear it.

The following is the operation of my improved crimping machine. The leather after being cut of the proper size is placed beneath the brake C, its corners are brought up to the hitch-on 7 E and are secured in its grasp. To effect this it is only necessary to bear over the tops of the jaws 79, in the direction indicated by the arrow (Fig. 2). This opens the jaw on this side as shown in red Fig. 2 for the reception of the corner of the leather; the other jaw 20 is then pushed in the direction contrary to the arrow, which opens it in a similar manner. Vhen the leather has been inserted into these jaws and they are released from the hand, the spring r closes the aws, but to give them a firmer hold of the leather the screw o is turned up to tighten them. As the crimping proceeds the lever D is depressed, this raises the hitch-on E and takes up the slack of the leather, the pawl s and ratchet fw retaining what is gained. Now in this crimping process, should the leather which is being operated upon adhere to the inner on the leather. Otherwise the operator might tear off the corners and spoil the piece of leather before he discovered that it had stuck to the jaws B.

With the hitch-on E arranged as above described the operator can insert the cor ners of the leather into the jaws more conveniently than with any other arrangement of hitch-on 7 with which I am acquainted, as the spring 1 holds one jaw shut on one corner of the leather while the other corner is being inserted into the other jaw, it then only requires a few turns of a single screw to secure both jaws to the leather.

In lieu of placing the spring g beneath the bearing of the pivot ,7s as above described, a spring may be` interposed between the hitch-on7 and the device by which it is raised, which latter may then be pivoted rigidly to the brake C.

I do not claim raising the hitch-on by a spring, as that is not new, but

Vhat I do claim as my invention in machines for crimping boot legs, in which the hitch-on is raised by the hand of the operator, is-

1.Pivoting the device by which the by a single screw as described.

JAMES D. BLACK.

Witnesses:

SAM. COOPER, P. E. TESCHEMACHER. 

